As your primary dentist, our main goal is to help prioritize your oral health through top-of-the-line dentistry and care. Indeed, traditional issues such as tooth decay and gum disease can cause significant harm to your smile if they are left untreated, but it is also important to recognize that other nontraditional issues such as snoring or grinding your teeth can get in the way of these goals as well. In today’s blog, your Houston, TX dentist performs a deep-dive into the damaging nature of chronic teeth grinding, as well as what your treatment options may be.
Immediate Damage to Your Teeth
Like snoring, teeth grinding is not a normal or standard operation that takes place on a regular basis. What’s more? This phenomenon can cause significant damage to your oral structures and complicate your functional capabilities, all without you even knowing there is a problem, initially. In other words, bruxism in and of itself is a dangerous phenomenon, but it can continue to occur to the point that it leads to even bigger complications down the line.
One such way bruxism, or chronic teeth grinding, affects your smile is through immediate damage to your teeth. You see, this phenomenon occurs often unconsciously, and involves a person tightly clenching his or her teeth together and moving the lower jaw from side to side. As a result, the tension between structures causes friction.
Not only does the friction cause tension, but it can damage your pearly whites as well. As a matter of fact, this process causes your teeth to become more susceptible to breaking and cracking. To learn more about this process and how our team can help you seek proper treatment, give us a call today.
Ways it Influences Oral Function
In addition to the increase in damage you would endure through unchecked bruxism, you will also develop difficulties with your oral function as well. For example, the great tension and friction teeth grinding causes can lead to a strained jaw. This might complicate the process of opening your mouth fully. Moreover, this can make it difficult to bite, chew, eat, and even enunciate. While it may not seem like the worst issue that can arise, it most certainly isn’t the only one. Contact our office to learn more.
Beware of Jaw Dysfunction
Arguably the most concerning fear arising from untreated teeth grinding is that it can develop into a dangerous jaw dysfunction known as TMJ disorder. This phenomenon occurs when the lower mandible becomes misaligned with one or both of the temporomandibular joints (TMJs) with which it hinges to your cranium. The result is a noticeable popping or clicking sound in the jaw and can lead to significant discomfort or pain.
Learn More Today
Contact SleepWell Houston in Houston, TX by calling 713-796-9600 to learn more about the ways teeth grinding can be treated, and schedule your next appointment with a member of our team today.
Recent Comments